A Life In Boxes
by KagamineKagami
Summary: Shuichiro's in the attic, going through his memories of himself and Eiji. But where's Eiji?
1. The First Boxes

**This one is from Rin**

~Chapter 1 - The First Boxes~

Oishi Shuichiro climbed the creaking wooden steps up to the attic, reaching blindly for the chain that would turn on the light. Finding it, he pulled, and with a click, the small, dark space became less dark, the dim light bulb in the corner doing its best to help him see.

The attic was warm, too warm; it didn't have any air conditioning. The dust-covered boxes made Oishi sigh. He regretted not labelling them, but he hadn't thought to when he packed them.

He brushed the dust off of the top of the nearest box, setting it on the floor in front of him and sitting down to open it. Tennis things; at least he'd had the sense to pack like items together.

He pulled out the objects one by one, hoping he'd find he was able to get rid of some of them. He doubted it, but he could try.

He discovered an old tennis racket, the strings sagging, frame scratched, grip worn. It had been Eiji's in junior high. He hadn't used it for years.

Eiji and Oishi had decided to get an apartment together when they went to college. But all their things had ended up in the attic, in identical cardboard cubes. Today was the first time Oishi had been up to the attic since the boxes had been put there.

Setting Eiji's old racket to the side, he picked up a tennis ball Eiji had drawn a little picture of Oishi on. It had been a birthday present. Next came their old Seigaku regulars' jackets. Oishi put his on-it still fit. He kept it on, despite the heat of the summer wrapping around him, filling the attic.

Oishi was surprised by the next thing he found: a Fila hat. Had it been Ryoma's? Eiji must've stolen it and forgotten to give it back. He laughed.

"Eiji, you really shouldn't have bothered him so much." He was smiling, so it wasn't a serious admonishment. Eiji didn't answer, but he didn't talk much these days.

Oishi couldn't make himself get rid of any of the stuff in that box, but at least he'd opened it and gone through it. That was progress. He pocketed the tennis ball and took it and the hat with him when he left the attic, folding up the stairs behind him.

He set the tennis ball on his desk, placing the hat next to it until he could return it to Ryoma. He'd call him and ask to meet later.

It was late, so he got ready for bed and turned out the lights. "Good night, Eiji." Again, as usual, no answer.


	2. Dog Toys

**There seems to have been something wrong with this chapter. I'm really sorry about that, and I've fixed it.**

~Chapter 2 - Dog toys~

The next day Oishi went up to the attic again. Surveying the piles of boxes, he picked one and sat down with it.

This time it was mostly his things. He found his bowling bag, and when he unzipped it the ball inside was still brightly polished, as if it had been waiting for him.

He set the bag and his wrist guard aside to take downstairs. Hadn't people been telling him he should get out more? Now he could go bowling; hopefully he wouldn't suffer too terribly from lack of practice.

He frowned. This box wasn't quite as well organized as the last one had been. Mixed in with his bowling things was an old dog toy. It must've been with Eiji's things when he was packing and had ended up there somehow. Perhaps he could throw that away.

Yes, it was dirty and he didn't have any use for it, he didn't have a dog. He put it with the bowling stuff to take downstairs so he could throw it out.

He found another dog toy and a few bird toys. Would all of the other boxes be this disorganized? Maybe he hadn't packed as well as he thought. He set the toys aside with the other one, intending to throw them all away.

He finished with that box and picked another, tearing the old tape off the top to open it. He couldn't see what was in the box until he'd finished coughing from the dust he was stirring up.

Eiji's things again. Toothbrushes and several different flavors of toothpaste, some he hadn't even known existed.

"Eiji, where did you find this one? Black licorice toothpaste doesn't sound very good." Eiji said nothing, but Oishi hadn't expected him to respond.

He examined the tube of toothpaste, opening it to see if anything was wrong with it. It looked okay, so he set it back in the box. It was too old to use, but he'd keep some of the more rare flavors, the ones Eiji had collected from different places. He put the more ordinary tubes in the pile of things he was throwing away.

Two boxes was enough for one day. He took the bowling gear and the pile of trash downstairs, throwing the latter away when he passed the trash can.

He set the bowling gear by his desk. He made a mental note to call Ryoma about the hat. He hadn't seen him in a while, it would be good to catch up. Maybe they could get some of the others and go bowling together.

Oishi sat down on the floor and did his homework.


	3. Games

~Chapter 3 - Games

Oishi had started going up to the attic and sorting through at least one box every day. The dust was slowly vanishing; he hadn't been giving it time to settle. The piles of boxes were shrinking little by little.

Today's box contained Eiji's video games and a few old board games. Oishi set the board games aside and put a game into the slot on the device, flicking the switch.

He was surprised to see that it still worked after so long in the attic. The battery indicator showed it would need to be charged soon, but other than that it was perfect.

Oishi started the game he'd chosen, playing through the first few levels before realizing he'd been in the middle of something.

"Now I see why you never wanted to put it down, Eiji. It's pretty fun."

He put the box of games by the stairs to take down. He'd sort through them and keep a few to play, then give the rest away.

The board games were well loved, with taped up boxes and missing pieces. Oishi decided to keep them all, since there were only a few. He could put them on top of the bookshelf, where they'd be easily seen. Then he'd have something to entertain guests with. Everyone liked board games, right?

Oishi took everything down and set it on the floor by the stairs, going back up to turn off the light. He folded up the stairs and took the box to his room.

He put the games on their shelf, then sat on the floor and sorted the video games into two piles: one to keep, one to give away. He put the give away pile back into the box and set it by his door. He'd have to ask around and see if anyone wanted them.

Oishi glanced over at his desk. The hat was still there. He thought about it for a moment, picked up the phone, and dialed.

**Next is the bowling chapter!**


	4. Bowling

**This chapter got turned into code somehow, just like chapter 2 did when I first posted it. Sorry. -Rin**

~Chapter 4 - Bowling~

The ball rolled down the middle of the lane and into the pins, producing the sort of clattering noise that you only hear in bowling alleys as they scattered. A strike.

Momo watched in disbelief as his sempai bowled his third strike of the evening. And they were only in the fifth frame! "Oishiii, that's just not fair!" Ryoma, sitting nearby, smirked.

"Mada mada da ne, Momo-sempai."

Oishi smiled and apologized to Momo.

"I'm sure you'll get better with practice."

Kaido stood up silently, walking over the rack of bowling balls and taking his. Momo had laughed at him for picking a ball five pounds lighter than his, but Kaido had insisted that he'd picked that weight because he liked the lighter ball, not because he couldn't use a heavier one.

Kaido took a deep breath before sending his ball down the middle of the lane...and into the gutter. Momo was leaning on Ryoma for support, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Do we need to get you bumpers, Mamushi?" Another fit of laughter at the thought of his rival actually using the bumpers. Kaido hissed loudly. Oishi stepped between them.

"There's still another turn left in this frame, Kaido. Look, there's your ball." He pointed to the ball return machine, which had just spit out the green ball Kaido was using.

Kaido turned and picked up the ball. He didn't want to cause trouble for Oishi-sempai after he had invited them all here. He got a 7 for that frame. Momo got an 8, and would never let Kaido hear the end of it.

They ended the game the game in a tie, though neither one was happy with that result. They all went to dinner together, then Oishi invited them to come back to his place for a little while. When they got there, Momo and Kaido started a Monopoly war, with Ryoma robbing the bank when they weren't looking. Oishi decided to let him, and the two arguing rivals were very surprised when Ryoma won.

After a few more games, it was starting to get late. Everyone left alone or in pairs, and Oishi put away the board games, cleaned up, and went to bed.


	5. Music

~Chapter 5 - Music~

The next morning Oishi woke up early. He decided to go to the attic before breakfast. He whistled cheerfully to himself as he ascended the rickety attic steps, selecting a box and sitting down to look through it.

Eiji's iPod was on top, with several CDs beneath it. Oishi turned on the iPod, put the earbuds in and hit shuffle. A few seconds passed silently before the HY's AM 11 began playing.

Oishi picked up the whole box and took it downstairs, the music still playing. He could listen to the CDs later, when he'd had breakfast.

The song ended, and another started. He danced through the kitchen, making pancakes. It was the sort of thing Eiji always did, dancing around like that.

The song that was playing ended, and after a brief pause Oishi heard Ejji's voice coming through the earbuds. He stopped and stood still, listening. Eiji was singing Nekofunjatta and playing the piano, albeit slowly. He stumbled through the first few lines before making a mistake.

"Oh! Ah, this is haaard." Oishi had to smile. The song had been a birthday present for him, but Eiji had edited out the mistakes in the copy he'd given Oishi.

As the recorded Eiji continued to play, Oishi thought about the last time he'd seen the real Eiji.

**All will be revealed in the next chapter. *wiggles fingers myseriously***


	6. Rain

**I apologize in advance for this chapter. It made Len cry. But if you aren't busy, maybe leave a review and let me know how I'm doing? It would really help. Thank you for reading, and don't worry, this isn't the end. -Rin**

~Chapter 6 - Rain~

_The last time Oishi had seen Eiji..._

It had rained a few hours earlier, leaving puddles everywhere, and wet roads and sidewalks. Oishi and Eiji had gone to the grocery store to buy food for the week. They didn't have a car, and the store wasn't far from home, so they walked.

They'd had a mostly productive shopping trip (meaning Eiji had only begged for sweets a few times), and were heading home with their plastic bags of groceries.

Oishi was walking in a straight line, while Eiji jumped in every puddle he saw, making little zig-zags ever closer to the road.

"Eiji, be careful. Don't get the food wet or drop it, please. And don't get too close to the street."

"Nya, you worry too much, Oishiiii~" But Eiji moved a little closer to the middle of the sidewalk nonetheless. Somewhere behind them, a bus pulled up to the stop and let people off before driving away, passing by the boys. One of the tires went through a puddle and splashed a little water on Eiji, who spluttered indignantly.

"I told you to move away from the road." Oishi frowned. "Did the food get wet?" Eiji waved the plastic bags around as he talked.

"What about me? I got wet."

"You won't disintegrate. Some of that food will." Eiji hopped in a puddle, almost as if to prove Oishi's point. Oishi sighed and kept walking.

Eiji seemed to forget about getting splashed, still drifting towards the road where the next car that came by could soak him. Oishi decided not to try and keep him in the middle of the sidewalk. It would never work. He'd just hope some of the food Eiji was carrying would still be edible when they got home.

Eiji fell behind, as one needs to move more slowly if one wants to jump in _every _puddle one sees. Oishi looked back over his should occasionally to make sure the bouncy redhead was still following. The first few times he checked, he saw only Eiji, hopping in puddles and probably ruining the food he was carrying. But this time...this time Oishi saw, as if in slow motion, a red sports car coming around the corner too fast, tires squealing on the wet road and failing to find purchase. He saw the car swerve off the road, onto the sidewalk. And Oishi watched, looking over his shoulder, as the bright red car plowed into his best friend before hitting a street light.

He stood frozen in shock for a moment before dropping his bags and sprinting to the fallen redhead.

Eiji was lying in the middle of the road, bleeding from several gashes caused by the sharp bits of wreckage from the car and street lamp, which was leaning at a precarious angle. Oishi knew that the first rule of first aid was to make sure you weren't going to be in danger while helping, but he completely forgot to check his surroundings as he dropped to his knees by his friend's side. He only barely remembered to call 911. As he dialed and the phone rang, Oishi tried talking to Eiji.

"It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay. I'm calling an ambulance right now, you'll be fine." He repeated those few words, as if by saying them enough they would become true.

He talked to the dispatcher and she told him the emergency crew was on its way. He went back to repeating his little mantra, trying to reassure both himself and Eiji.

"Don't cry, Oishi. 'M gonna be fine." Eiji's voice was quiet, in a marked contrast to his normal manner of speech. Oishi hadn't even realized there were tears streaming down his face.

The ambulance arrived after what felt like forever. The paramedics came rushing to get Eiji, and Oishi had to move back to allow them room. They put Eiji on a stretcher and took it to the ambulance loading doors. Oishi insisted on going with them. He was the only one there, he had to stay with Eiji. As the paramedics loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, Eiji looked over at Oishi.

"I'm sorry...I let the food...get wet." Oishi didn't have a chance to replay before everything was ready and the ambulance left. He was told to stay out of the way in the little seat reserved for people who rode with their loved ones.

There was a frantic air to the proceedings, the men working on Eiji shouting to one another.

Things like: "Lacerations on abdomen and torso." Or: "High blood loss. Transfusion needed." And finally, the most terrible sounds of all. Every machine in the little space started beeping, alarms going off everywhere. The paramedics became even more frantic, trying everything they could.

Eventually one of them shut off all the machines, just as they pulled into the ambulance bay of the hospital.

"Patient is DOA."

Oishi knew enough about medicine to know what that meant for Eiji. It was then that the men seemed to realize he was there.

"Now son, we're gonna take you inside. Is there someone you can call?" Oishi refused to believe it. Eiji couldn't be dead. He shoved his way over to where his friend lay, shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Eiji?" No answer. One of the paramedics laid a hand on his shoulder.

"He's gone. I'm sorry. We did all we could." Oishi felt numb. They guided him into the hospital, asking him who they should call, and finally just taking his phone from his pocket when he didn't respond. He barely registered that they were checking him for shock and calling his mom.

All he could think were two words, as if by repeating them enough he would come to realize the truth in them.

_Eiji's dead._


End file.
